Patterns Addressed
In TCM, symptoms don't appear randomly — they cluster into recognizable patterns of disharmony that reveal what's out of balance in the body. Qing Wei San is designed to correct these specific patterns.
Why Qing Wei San addresses this pattern
This is the primary pattern Qing Wei San was designed to treat. Accumulated Heat in the Stomach blazes upward along the Yangming channels (the Stomach channel reaches the upper gums, the Large Intestine channel reaches the lower gums), attacking the teeth, gums, lips, cheeks, and face. The Heat scorches the Blood, causing inflammation, bleeding, and tissue damage in the oral cavity. Huang Lian directly clears the Stomach Fire, Sheng Ma vents the depressed Heat and guides the formula to the affected area, while Sheng Di Huang and Mu Dan Pi cool the Blood that has been damaged by the upward-flaring Fire. Dang Gui nourishes Blood to support recovery.
A practitioner would look for one or more of these signs
Severe, with preference for cold and aversion to hot on the affected teeth
Spontaneous gum bleeding or bleeding on slight pressure
Red, swollen, possibly ulcerated gums
Hot, foul-smelling breath from Stomach Heat
Ulceration of the lips, tongue, or inner cheeks
Heat and redness of the cheeks
Headache pulled upward by the tooth pain along the channel
Dry mouth and tongue from Heat consuming fluids
Why Qing Wei San addresses this pattern
When Stomach Fire is intense and sustained, it easily enters the Blood level, a progression facilitated by the Stomach being a 'fu organ of copious Qi and Blood.' Blood-level Heat manifests as gum bleeding (tooth-bleeding or 'ya xuan'), red and swollen oral tissues, and in some cases nosebleeds. Qing Wei San addresses this with Sheng Di Huang and Mu Dan Pi, which directly cool the Blood and stop bleeding, while Huang Lian drains the Stomach Fire at its source to prevent further damage to the Blood level. Dang Gui nourishes and harmonizes the Blood to support healing of the damaged tissues.
A practitioner would look for one or more of these signs
Gum bleeding, sometimes profuse, with bright red blood
Epistaxis from Stomach Fire forcing Blood upward
Red, inflamed, possibly ulcerated gum tissue
Painful oral ulcers with red base
Commonly Prescribed For
These conditions can arise from the patterns above. A practitioner would consider Qing Wei San when these conditions are specifically caused by those patterns — not for all cases of these conditions.
TCM Interpretation
TCM distinguishes toothache by its underlying pattern. Stomach Fire toothache is marked by intense pain that prefers cold and worsens with heat, often accompanied by red swollen gums, bad breath, and facial flushing. The Stomach channel (foot Yangming) enters the upper teeth, while the Large Intestine channel (hand Yangming) enters the lower teeth, so when Heat accumulates in the Stomach, it follows these channels upward to attack the teeth and gums. This is considered an Excess-type toothache, distinct from the dull, lingering tooth pain of Kidney Yin Deficiency (where the Kidneys fail to nourish the bones and teeth) or the sharp pain of Wind-Cold invasion.
Why Qing Wei San Helps
Qing Wei San directly targets the root cause: Stomach Fire. Huang Lian, bitter and cold, drains accumulated Fire from the Stomach. Sheng Ma guides the formula along the Yangming channel to the teeth and face while also venting the trapped Fire so it can disperse. Sheng Di Huang and Mu Dan Pi cool the Blood that has been heated by the Fire, reducing gum inflammation and bleeding. Dang Gui nourishes the Blood and helps reduce swelling. The combined effect rapidly lowers the Heat driving the toothache while addressing the tissue damage it has caused.
TCM Interpretation
Recurrent mouth sores (oral ulcers, stomatitis) in TCM are often attributed to Heat in the Spleen and Stomach systems, since the Spleen 'opens to the mouth.' When Stomach Fire is exuberant, it flares upward and burns the soft tissues of the oral cavity, causing painful ulceration of the gums, tongue, inner cheeks, and lips. The accompanying Blood-level Heat causes the ulcers to appear with a red, inflamed base. This pattern is an Excess-Heat type, characterised by intense pain, foul breath, thirst, and a red tongue with yellow coating, distinguishing it from the milder, recurrent ulcers of Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire.
Why Qing Wei San Helps
The formula clears the Stomach Fire driving the ulceration while cooling the Blood that is being damaged. Huang Lian clears the Stomach Heat at its source. Sheng Di Huang and Mu Dan Pi cool Blood-level Heat, promoting healing of the ulcerated tissue. Dang Gui nourishes Blood to support tissue repair. Clinical studies have shown that modified Qing Wei San achieves high effectiveness rates for recurrent oral ulcers attributed to Stomach Fire.
TCM Interpretation
Bad breath (halitosis) is one of the most common presentations of Stomach Heat in TCM. The accumulated Heat in the Stomach produces what is described as 'hot, foul breath' (口气热臭) as the Heat and turbidity rise upward. This is often accompanied by other signs of Stomach Fire such as thirst, preference for cold drinks, red tongue with yellow coating, and sometimes constipation. The condition may be aggravated by overconsumption of rich, spicy, or greasy foods, or by emotional stress generating internal Heat.
Why Qing Wei San Helps
By directly clearing the Stomach Fire with Huang Lian and venting the trapped Heat with Sheng Ma, the formula eliminates the source of the foul breath. The Blood-cooling herbs (Sheng Di Huang, Mu Dan Pi) address any secondary inflammation in the oral tissues that may be contributing to the odour. As the Stomach Heat resolves, the breath normalises.
Also commonly used for
Gingivitis and periodontitis with red, swollen, bleeding gums
Gingival bleeding due to Stomach Fire
Epistaxis from Stomach Fire flaring upward
Trigeminal neuralgia with signs of Stomach Heat
Facial acne from Yangming channel Heat
What This Formula Does
Every TCM formula has a specific set of actions — here's what Qing Wei San does in the body, explained in both everyday and TCM terms
Therapeutic focus
In practical terms, Qing Wei San is primarily used to support these areas of health:
TCM Actions
In TCM terminology, these are the specific therapeutic actions that Qing Wei San performs to restore balance in the body:
How It Addresses the Root Cause
TCM doesn't just suppress symptoms — it aims to resolve the underlying imbalance. Here's how Qing Wei San works at the root level.
The core disease mechanism addressed by Qing Wei San is Stomach Fire flaring upward (胃火上攻, wèi huǒ shàng gōng). In this pattern, excessive Heat accumulates in the Stomach, then follows the Yangming channel pathway upward to attack the mouth, teeth, gums, and face.
The Foot Yangming (Stomach) channel runs through the upper gums, while the Hand Yangming (Large Intestine) channel reaches the lower gums. When Heat becomes exuberant in these channels, it blazes upward along these pathways, causing intense toothache, swollen and bleeding gums, facial flushing, foul breath, and mouth sores. Because the Stomach is described classically as an organ abundant in both Qi and Blood (多气多血之腑), when Stomach Heat is severe it readily burns into the Blood level, scorching the blood vessels of the gums and oral tissues. This explains the bleeding, ulceration, and tissue breakdown that accompany the condition.
The pattern may arise from dietary excess (spicy, greasy, or rich foods), overconsumption of warming or tonifying medicines (as Li Dongyuan specifically noted), or internal factors that generate Heat in the middle burner. The Heat dries fluids, producing thirst and dry mouth, while the rising Fire produces the characteristic preference for cold drinks and cold applied to the teeth. This combination of Stomach Fire in the Qi level and Heat entering the Blood level is precisely what Qing Wei San is designed to address.
Formula Properties
Every formula has an inherent temperature, taste, and affinity for specific organs — these properties determine how it interacts with the body
Overall Temperature
Taste Profile
Predominantly bitter and sweet, with the bitter taste dominating to drain Fire and dry Dampness, balanced by sweet and cool herbs that nourish Yin and cool the Blood.
